Wednesday, 15 August 2012

Crafty Library

Packing is still going strong (have I mentioned we are moving enough yet? It's taking over my life!) and I have rediscovered lots of craft and baking related books I had almost forgotten about. So thought I would share some of my favourites today.

1. Queen of Crafts - basically a crafting bible! It covers everything from quilting to jam making to organising crafty gatherings. It's written in ways that anyone could understand, and the book is beautifully presented including lovely illustrations.

2. How to make jewellery with Tatty Devine - lots of projects to emulate their amazing style. Pretty much every project utilises little objects you can hunt down in a thrift store, or a charity shop or probably your own house. The insights into their life and their business dotted throughout the book are great too.

3. The Great British Book of Baking - from the original series of Great British Bake off (the third series starts this week and I am super excited!). Another teach you the basics book, with biscuits, pies and puddings covered as well as cakes. The photography is probably the most inspirational part though, I would love my baking photos to look half this good.

4. Hello, Cupcake! - some of the craziest cupcakes I have ever seen. I haven't been able to recreate any of them perfectly, and the book uses a lot of American sweets and chocolates, but just flicking through the pages is enough to spark my imagination. Practice makes perfect I think!

5. Make your own Misfits - book of creatures you can sew from unwanted clothing and fabric scraps. They all have names and quirky personalities that I think make them great gifts for people. This was one of the first crafty books I bought, and the instructions are all more than simple enough for a new sewer.

Most of my favourite books give me the basics I need to let my imagination run wild. All my craft stuff is packed up (in several huge boxes) but looking through these books again has got the creative juices flowing. Hopefully in the new place I will have a new and improved crafting space, and can go making and baking crazy!